EVERETT — A judge on Tuesday ruled that prosecutors can use the statements made by a 16-year-old girl when she is tried for murder in the gang-related slaying.
Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Ronald Castleberry said that detectives adequately read Ana Cary Ayala Bustos her constitutional rights during an interview shortly after she was arrested in June.
She was intelligent and sophisticated enough to understand her right to remain silent, but chose to speak with investigators, Castleberry said.
Bustos is accused of taking part in the fatal attack on Antonio Marks, 17, of Marysville. Marks was found June 17, lying in a pool of blood in downtown Sultan. He’d been repeatedly kicked and stabbed.
Police arrested five Sultan teenagers. Four have pleaded guilty and were sentenced to prison.
Bustos is scheduled to go to trial next month. She faces up to 18 years in prison if convicted.
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